Method and apparatus for processing meat slabs

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for processing meat slabs into meat strips, particularly pork belly slabs into bacon strips. The apparatus includes a massager, a slab press station, a sleeve for holding the pressed slab, an oven or smokehouse, a blast chiller, a slab removable device and a spiral freezer. The method for processing the meat slab into meat strips includes massaging the slab, pressing the slabs and inserting the slabs into sleeves in the pressed condition. The sleeves are then transported to an oven for cooking and then a blast chiller. Once chilled, the slabs are removed from the sleeve and sliced to the appropriate thickness.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to meat processing. In particular, theinvention is directed to a method and apparatus for processing meatslabs into meat strips.

[0002] The conventional method of processing meat slabs or bellies, andin particular pork bellies into bacon strips, consists of several steps.First, the bellies, which can either be fresh or defrosted, are injectedwith approximately 11% to 13% pickle solution. Once the bellies areinjected with the pickle solution, they are hung from a smokehouse treewith a hanging device or comb. The bellies are then either cooked orsmoked to approximately 128° F.

[0003] Once the bellies have been cooked sufficiently, they are removedfrom the smokehouse and placed in a blast chiller. The bellies aretempered in a blast chiller to a uniform temperature of approximately18° F. to 27° F.

[0004] After the bellies are chilled, the bellies are then shaped in apressing device. The pressing of the bellies results in bellies withparallel sides and substantially squared ends. The pressed bellies arethen sliced to a desired thickness. Because the belly is enclosed on allsides when the belly is pressed, the belly is prevented from stretchingas it is pressed vertically, resulting in lower slice yields. Theaverage finished slicing yield ranges from 65% to 85% of the bellies.The 15% to 35% yield loss stems from various sources, such as internalseparation of fat and lean caused by the pressing process, which resultsin an unacceptable slice, from uneven ends and pieces left in theslicing, and from trimming the bellies at various stages to enhance therectangular shape.

[0005] In recent years, several companies have developed devices thatpress the bellies in all directions to form a nearly perfect rectangularshape. These devices press the bellies at a temperature of approximately18° F. to 27° F. At this temperature, however, the pressure appliedwhile pressing often causes internal shearing of the tissues thatconnect the fat to the lean, which results in significant damage to theindividual slices. Further, because the bellies are compressed in alldirections and are not allowed to stretch, slicing yields are lower.Finished slicing yields are typically in the 65% to 85% range.

[0006] More recently, the process has been modified by some companies toinclude massaging of the bellies, trimming the bellies to therectangular shape and placing the massaged and trimmed bellies intostainless steel cages. The process includes injecting fresh or defrostedbellies with a pickle solution as in the conventional process. Theinjected bellies are then massaged within a temperature range ofapproximately 34° F. to 38° F. The massaged bellies are then placed intoa vat or onto a staging conveyor for transporting to a worktable. On theworktable, the bellies are selected for their appropriate size and eachbelly is manually wrapped in a permeable film. The permeable film isbetween 4-6 mils in thickness.

[0007] Once the belly has been wrapped in the permeable film, it ismanually stuffed into a cage and the lid is closed. The lid, as itcloses, compresses the surface of the belly to insure, as much aspossible, that the shape of the belly will have six flat surfacescomprised of three pair of parallel surfaces. The permeable film wrappedaround the belly prevents the belly from extruding through the cageperforations, and also prevents the belly from sticking to the stainlesssteel cage during the cooking cycle.

[0008] Once stuffed into the cage, the belly is hung vertically on atree and moved into a smokehouse/oven for cooking and smoking. Thepermeable film allows the smoke to penetrate the belly, giving it flavorand color. Once cooked, the belly is then chilled. The belly is thenremoved from the cage and the permeable film is removed from the bellyand discarded.

[0009] The belly is then taken to a blast freezer to temper the belly toa uniform temperature of approximately 18° F. to 27° F. Once the bellyhas reached the desired temperature, the belly is sliced and packagedfor retail sale or food service. This process typically producessubstantially rectangular shaped bellies and slices, and produces yieldsoften exceeding 90%.

[0010] The key to the success of any molded bacon process is the abilityto press bellies into a substantially rectangular shape whilemaintaining a high slicing yield from the belly. Pressing bellies at atemperature above freezing, while advantageous, is problematic becausethe bellies do not retain their pressed shape. Prior art methods havetypically only pressed bellies while frozen so that they retain theirpressed shape.

[0011] The most conventional method is one such method. It requirespressing of bellies that are crust frozen and tempered to a temperaturerange of approximately 18° F. to 27° F., to permit the bellies to retaintheir final pressed shape. However, because the bellies are frozenduring the pressing process, it is more likely that the belly willsustain shearing of connective tissues. This results in a greatlyreduced slicing yield from the belly.

[0012] The caged belly process, although producing higher yields thanthe more conventional method is slow and labor intensive. The belliesmust be manually wrapped in the permeable film and unwrapped aftercooking/smoking, which is time consuming and expensive. Additionally,the process involves significant operating costs associated with thepermeable film and the constant repair and replacement of the stainlesssteel cages.

[0013] Thus, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus forprocessing meat bellies which produces high yields and is fast,efficient and has a low cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] One aspect of the invention is directed to an apparatus forprocessing meat slabs into meat strips. The apparatus presses slabs intoa rectangular shape for slicing with minimal damage and loss to theslab. The apparatus comprises a massager, a press station, anoven/smokehouse, a blast chiller, a slab removal device and a spiralfreezer. The press station comprises a rectangular cavity for receivingthe slabs, a flat platen for pressing the slabs, a ram device forpushing the compressed slabs from under the flat platen into a sleeve.The press station also includes a stripper plate press, which covers thetop and bottom surfaces of the sleeve and also closes the end of thesleeve opposite the rectangular cavity. The slab removal devicecomprises a stripper plate press similar to the stripper plate press inthe press station and a ram device for pushing the slabs out of thesleeve so that they can be sliced.

[0015] Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method forprocessing meat slabs into meat strips. The slabs are pressed and shapedat a temperature above freezing without trimming, resulting in greatlyreduced damage and loss to the slab during the pressing process. Theslabs are first massaged and then placed in the press station. The slabsare then pressed to the desired thickness and width for eventuallyslicing. While the pressing pressure is maintained, the slabs are pushedout from under the press into a sleeve. The sleeve is also within thepress station while the slab is inserted into it, allowing the slab toslide smoothly into the sleeve. Once in the sleeve, the slabs are placedin an oven and cooked and smoked. The cooked slabs are then chilled.Once chilled, the slab filled sleeves are taken to the slab removaldevice where a ram pushes the slab out of the sleeve. At this point, theslabs are once again chilled and then sliced. The rectangular shapedslab resulting from the method produces slicing yields approaching 100%.

[0016] Another aspect of the invention is directed to a sleeve forshaping the pressed slabs. The sleeve is preferably polypropylene suchthat the meat slabs do not stick to the sleeve during the processing ofthe meat slab. The sleeve contains apertures along at least its largeupper and lower surfaces, which allow smoke penetration during thecooking/smoking process.

[0017] Other and further aspects and features of the invention will beevident from reading the following detailed description of the methodand the apparatus shown in the drawings, which is intended toillustrate, but not limit, the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The drawings illustrate the design and utility of preferredembodiments of the present invention, in which similar elements arereferred to by common reference numerals.

[0019]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view diagram of the apparatus andmethod of the present invention for processing meat slabs.

[0020]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the meat slab press andstuffing apparatus of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the slab press and stuffingapparatus shown in FIG. 2;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view of the stripper platepress apparatus of the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 5 is a partial end elevational view of the stripper platepress apparatus shown in FIG. 4;

[0024]FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the upper stripper plate taken alongline 66 in FIG. 4;

[0025]FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the sleeve for holding the pressedmeat slabs;

[0026]FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the sleeve for holding the pressedmeat slabs taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

[0027]FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the sleeve for holding the pressedmeat slabs with the stripper plates in the pressed position; and

[0028]FIG. 10 is a partial side elevational view of the dischargeapparatus for discharging the slabs from the sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] The apparatus for processing meat slabs includes a massager 10, apress 20, a smokehouse or oven 70, a blast chiller 80, a slab removaldevice 90, and a spiral freezer 110, as shown in FIG. 1. The drawingsillustrate a dual, side-by-side processing line system but a single ormultiple lines may be employed. The processing system may also includeconventional slicing and packaging stations (not shown). Although themethod and apparatus of the present invention for processing meat slabswill generally be described in connection with processing pork belliesinto bacon strips, the method and apparatus may be used to process anyother type of meat pieces into meat strips or slices and, forconvenience of description and claiming, all such meat pieces have beenreferred to above and hereinafter shall be referred to as a “slab”,“slabs”, “meat slab” and “meat slabs”.

[0030] The massager 10 is preferably a food processor as described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,657,771 and 4,517,888, hereby incorporated by referenceas though set forth in full. The food processors of those patentsmassage the slabs in a temperature-controlled drum into which brine isadded for absorption by the slabs. The massager 10, however, may be anyother appropriate means for massaging, rubbing and/or conditioning theslabs prior to their pressing.

[0031] The press station 20, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, has twoidentical processing lines and each line includes a cavity 22, a slabpress 24, a ram device 30 and a stripper plate press 36. The cavity 22is preferably rectangular having vertical sides 23, a flat bottom 25 andopen ends. The preferably width of the rectangular cavity issubstantially equal to the desired length of a finished bacon strip,which varies between approximately 8{fraction (3/4)} inches and10{fraction (1/2)} inches.

[0032] The length of the rectangular cavity 22 is sized to accommodatethe length of the pressed belly. Because the ends of the cavity 22 areopen, the belly is free to elongate or stretch while it is being pressedvertically. Preferably, the belly elongates at least 4 inches and up to12 inches or more during pressing.

[0033] The slab press 24 includes a flat, rigid platen 26 connected to ahydraulic cylinder 28. The hydraulic cylinder 28 forces the flat platen26 down into the top of the rectangular cavity 22. As an alternative tothe single hydraulic cylinder 28, any combination of hydraulic cylindersor other mechanical drives may be used to obtain the required pressingforce (discussed below), such as four cylinders positioned below thecavity 22 at the four corners to pull downwardly on platen 26 or thelike. The shape of the flat platen 26 is preferably rectangular andsized to form a tight fit with the sides 23 of the cavity 22. This tightfit between the flat platen 26 and cavity 22 prevents the slab fromescaping from the cavity 22. Once the slab has been placed in the cavity22, the plate 26 is lowered to compress the slab to a particularthickness. Preferably, the thickness is the desired width of a finishedmeat strip, such as bacon, which is approximately 1 inch. The slab pressdevice 24, however, may be configured to press the slab to anypredetermined thickness, depending on the type of meat or the size ofthe slab that is being compressed. Since the slabs normally are of thefull width of the cavity 22 and thicker than the desired finishedthickness (here 1 inch), the slabs will be elongated toward the openends of the cavity, as described above, to thereby increase the lengthof slabs for slicing. The pressing pressure for causing this elongationhad shaping of the slab is very substantial and, for example,approximately 70 psi on the surface of the slab (a total force of about22,000 lbs.) has been successfully tested.

[0034] The press station 20 further includes a ram device 30. The ramdevice 30 includes an extendable ram face 32 connected to a ram cylinder34. Once the slab has been pressed in the cavity 22 by the flat platen26, the flat platen remains in place to hold the slab at the desiredthickness. The ram face 32 is sized to form a tight fit with the cavitywhile the flat platen 26 is in the pressed position. This prevents anyof the slab from escaping from the cavity 22 around the ram face 32.Prior to the pressing of the slab, the ram face 32 is in the non-engagedposition 33 shown in dotted lines. Once the flat platen 26 is in thepressed position, the ram cylinder 34 forces the ram face 32 into thecavity 22, the ram face engaging the compressed slab. Thus, the ram face32 forces the slab out of the cavity 22 into a sleeve 50.

[0035] Turning now to the sleeve 50, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, the sleeve50 is preferably rectangular having a top 52, a bottom 54 and two sides56. The sleeve 50 is preferably made of a FDA approved polypropyleneformulation but any other FDA approved plastic having a slick surface,adequate strength and heat resistance would be acceptable. Thepolypropylene sleeve is preferably because of its strength and itprevents the slab from sticking to the interior surface of the sleeve.If the slab were to stick to the interior of the sleeve, it would resultin tearing of the slab. While stainless steel cages require the slab tobe wrapped in a permeable film to prevent them from sticking to thecage, the slab can be directly placed into the polypropylene sleevewithout any further step to prevent it from sticking.

[0036] The length of the sleeve 50 is sized to accommodate the pressedslab length without compressing the slab in the lengthwise direction.The cross section 58 of the sleeve 50 has a width equal to the width ofthe cavity 22 and a height equal to the thickness of the pressed slabs.The top 52 and bottom 54 have a plurality of apertures 60 arranged in apattern. The apertures 60 are preferably square, however, the aperturesmay be any other shape, such as a rectangle or circle. Further, thesides 56 of the sleeve may also be provided with a plurality ofapertures 60 arranged in a pattern.

[0037] Prior to pressing the slab, the sleeve 50 is placed in thestripper plate press 36 in the press station 20, as shown in FIGS. 4 and5. The stripper plate press 36 comprises an upper stripper plate 38connected to an upper stripper plate hydraulic cylinder 40, a lowerstripper plate 42 and air cylinders 44. The upper stripper plate 38includes a sleeve closure plate 39 and protrusions 46, as shown in FIG.6. The protrusions 46 are configured to match the shape of the apertures60 and are arranged on the interior surface of the stripper plate 38 ina regular pattern matching the pattern of the apertures 60 in sleeve 50.The closure plate 39 extends normally downward from stripper plate 38,such that when the stripper plate 38 is in the pressed position 48,shown by dotted lines, the closure plate 39 closes the end of the sleeve50 opposite the end open to the rectangular cavity 22. Similarly, lowerstripper plate 42 also includes protrusions 46 along its interior, uppersurface. The protrusions are configured to match the apertures 60 andtheir pattern in the bottom 54 of sleeve 50. The upper stripper platehydraulic cylinder 40 pushes the upper stripper plate 38 into a positionagainst the sleeve 50. This forces the sleeve 50 down onto lowerstripper plate 42, such that the protrusions 46 fill the apertures 60 onthe upper surface 52 and lower surface 54 of the sleeve 50. Thus, thestripper plates provide a smooth interior surface in the sleeve 50, asshown in FIG. 9.

[0038] When using a sleeve 50 with apertures 60 on the sides 56, sidestripper plates may also be added to the stripper plate press 36. Theside stripper plates would also have protrusions 46 to fill in theapertures 60, so that all of the interior surfaces of the sleeve aresmooth.

[0039] The press station 20, further includes an inline scale (notshown) and a computer (not shown) connected to the inline scale and theram device 30. Once the slab has been placed in the cavity 22, theinline scale weighs the slab. The computer then calculates the densityof the slab and determines the precise amount of force to supply to theram device 30, such that the slab is inserted into the sleeve 50 withthe minimum amount of lengthwise compression. This can also becontrolled by sensing and regulating the cylinder pressure.

[0040] Once the slab has been inserted into the sleeve 50, the upperstripper plate 38 retracts from the sleeve 50. The slab filled sleeve 50is then lifted off of the lower stripper plate 42 by two small aircylinders 44. The slab-filled sleeve 50 is then transported from thepress station 20 to a conventional oven or smokehouse 70. Theoven/smokehouse cooks the slab to a temperature of approximately 128° F.Once cooked or smoked, the slab-filled sleeve is placed in aconventional blast-chiller 80 to be chilled to a desired temperature.Preferably, the blast chiller 80 chills the slab to a crust frozencondition and a temperature of approximately 22° F., or at least below32° F.

[0041] The slab-filled sleeve, after cooking and chilling is transportedto a slab removal device 90, as shown in FIG. 10. The slab removaldevice 90 includes a ram device 92 and a stripper plate press 100. Theram device 92 consists of a hydraulic cylinder 94 and a ram face 96connected to the hydraulic cylinder. The ram face 96 is sized to form atight fit with the cross section of the open end of the sleeve 50 formedby the top 52, bottom 54 and side walls 56 to prevent any of the slabfrom escaping past the ram face 96. The stripper plate press 100consists of an upper stripper plate 102 connected to an upper stripperplate hydraulic cylinder 104, a lower stripper plate 103 and two aircylinders 106. The upper and lower stripper plates, 102 and 103, eachhave a pattern of protrusions similar to protrusions 46 to match thepattern of apertures 60 on the sleeve 50. The upper stripper platecylinder 104 pushes the upper stripper plate 102 against the sleeve 50.This forces the sleeve 50 down onto the lower stripper plate 103 so thatthe protrusions 46 on the upper and lower stripper plates, 102 and 103,fill the apertures 60 on the sleeve 50 to provide a smooth interiorsurface. While the sleeve is being placed in the stripper plate press,the ram face 96 is in its initial retracted position 97. Once thestripper plates are in place against the sleeve 50, the ram hydrauliccylinder 94 forces the ram face 96 against the slab, forcing the slabout of the other open end of the sleeve 50.

[0042] The shaped slabs are then transported to a conventional spiralfreezer 110 where the slabs are chilled to the appropriate temperature.The spiral freezer provides a temperature of approximately 18° F. to 27°F. for slicing the slab.

[0043] An exemplary method of processing pork bellies into bacon stripsin accordance with the present invention and its features will now bedescribed. Referring to FIG. 1, the pork bellies are loaded into themassager 10. The pork bellies may be injected with a pickle solutionprior to loading the bellies into the massager 10. Alternately, thepickle solution may be infused into the bellies during the massagingprocess. The bellies are preferably massaged at a temperature abovefreezing of approximately 34° F. to 38° F., and in a vacuum. The belliesmay either be fresh or defrosted. This process, aside from the normalbenefits incurred by massaging the bellies, also serves to make thebellies pliable and conditioned for pressing at a temperature abovefreezing. The massaging process also activates proteins, which serve asthe glue to knit together splits, rips or tears in the belly that mayexist and/or occur during the pressing process. The bellies are massagedin a batch with a preferable batch size of approximately 10,000 lbs. Butthe batch size may be as large as 22,000 lbs.

[0044] After the bellies have been massaged in the massager 10, thebellies are unloaded from the massager 10 and transported, via aconveyor system 11 to the press station 20. The conveyor 11 is sized toaccommodate the entire batch of bellies. Once at the press station 20, abelly is manually laid into the cavity 22, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.The bellies are of varying dimensions and proportions (typically forpork bellies from 8 inches to 14 inches wide, 18 inches to 28 incheslong and ¾ inches to 2½ inches thick) with somewhat irregular shapesthat conventional processes might require trimming to a nearlyrectangular shape but no trimming is necessary with the method andapparatus of the present invention. The temperature of the bellies atthe press station is still above freezing, at approximately 34° F. to38° F., and the bellies are sufficiently pliable to be forced into thecavity 22. The hydraulic cylinder 28 then forces the flat platen 26downward into the cavity to press the belly to a predetermined thicknessless than the starting thickness of the belly. Preferably thepredetermined thickness is 1 inch, however, depending on the type andthickness of the meat slabs that are being pressed and the desired sizeof the end product, the predetermined thickness can be any desiredthickness. For example, when the slabs being processed are only about 1inch thick, then they will be pressed to less than 1 inch thickness toachieve the desired reshaping and elongation to form rectangular,pressed bellies.

[0045] The cavity 22 is preferably rectangular, so that as the belly ispressed, it has a substantially rectangular shape with straight,parallel sides. However, because both ends of the cavity 22 are open, asthe platen 26 presses the belly, the belly will expand or stretch atleast 4 inches and up to 12 inches or more. The tight seal between theflat platen 26 and the cavity 22 also facilitates this expansion orstretching of the belly, because the belly cannot pass around the flatplaten 26 as it is pressed. Thus, the rectangular cavity 22 and the flatplaten 26 provide a pressed belly with a rectangular cross-section.

[0046] While the belly may be pressed only once, it is preferable topress the belly a second time. The prior art devices press bellies thatare crust frozen and tempered to a temperature of 18° F. to 27° F.Pressing the bellies while frozen permit them to retain their shape. Theprocess of the present invention, however, presses the bellies while ata temperature above freezing, preferably 34° F. to 38° F. Because thebellies are pressed at a temperature above freezing, they will reboundtoward their previous shape after being pressed the first time. Pressingthe bellies a second time substantially reduces the amount of reboundingthe bellies undergo when removed from the press.

[0047] One of the advantages of pressing the belly at a temperatureabove freezing is that there is a lower likelihood of the connectivetissues in the belly shearing during the pressing process. While it isdesirable to prevent the rebounding of the belly, a small amount ofrebounding is desirable so that as the belly is placed in the sleeve 50,it rebounds slightly to press against the inner surfaces of the sleeve50. This rebounding prevents the belly from sliding out of the sleeve50.

[0048] The sleeve 50 is open at each end, with an open end placedimmediately adjacent to the open end of the cavity 22. Once the sleeve50 is in place, the stripper plate press 36 presses the upper stripperplate 38 and lower stripper plate 42 against the surface of the sleeve50. The protrusions 46 on the upper and lower stripper plates, 38 and42, fit into and fill the apertures 60 on the upper sleeve surface 52and the lower sleeve surface 54 providing a smooth interior surface forthe sleeve 50, as shown in FIG. 9.

[0049] Once the sleeve 50 and the stripper plates 38 and 42 are inplace, the ram device 30 then pushes the belly out of the cavity 22,while the flat platen 26 is in the pressed position, into the sleeve 50.The in-line scale weighs the belly prior to pressing. A computer,connected to both the scale and the ram device 30, calculates thedensity of the belly, based on its weight, and adjusts the hydraulicpressure exerted by the ram device 30 on the belly. The ram face 30starting in position 33 is pushed by hydraulic cylinder 34 so that theram face 32 engages with the end of the belly in the cavity 22. Bycontrolling the pressure exerted on the belly while it is inserted intothe sleeve 50, the minimum amount of pressure is exerted on the belly toinsure that the belly fills the entire sleeve without compressing thebelly lengthwise. Additionally, this minimum amount of pressure issufficient to close any tears or voids in the belly, which allows thetears or voids to be repaired by the proteins released during themassaging process, and to square the ends of the belly at the closureplate 39 and ram face 32.

[0050] After the belly has been inserted into the sleeve 50, the ramface 32 and flat platen 26 are retracted to their initial positions, asshown in FIG. 2. Further, the upper stripper plate 38 is also retractedto its initial position. Preferably, two small air cylinders 44 thenactuate to separate the sleeve 50 from the lower stripper plate 42,releasing the sleeve 50. The belly-filled sleeve is then taken from thepress station 20 and placed on a tree (not shown).

[0051] Once the belly-filled sleeve 50 has been placed on the tree, thetree is moved into the smokehouse/oven 70 so that the belly can becooked. Preferably the belly is cooked to approximately 128° F. The oven70 may be a smokehouse so that the smoke flavoring may be added to thebellies. Alternatively, the belly may be cured with liquid smoke addedto the brine to provide the belly with a smoked flavor. The apertures 60in the sleeve 50 allow the smoke, and heated air to reach the surface ofthe belly for cooking and flavoring. The proteins, which were activatedby the massaging process, serve as a glue to knit together any splits,rips or tears that occurred in the belly during the pressing. Theseproteins coagulate during the cooking process and glue any of the rips,tears or splits together.

[0052] After cooking, the belly-filled sleeve 50, is removed from theoven 70 and is transported to the blast chiller 80. The belly-filledsleeve is then blast chilled to a crust frozen condition at a chosentemperature, preferably approximately 22° F. but up to about 32° F.

[0053] The chilled belly, once it reaches the desired temperature, isremoved from the blast chiller 80 and transported to the belly removaldevice 90, as shown in FIG. 10. The belly-filled sleeve 50 is placedinto the stripper plate press 100 and onto the lower stripper plate 103.The upper stripper plate 102 is then pressed against the upper surface52 of the sleeve 50. This forces the sleeve 50 onto the lower stripperplate 103, such that the protrusions on the stripper plates fit into andfill the apertures 60 in the sleeve 50. The stripper plates, thus,provide a smooth interior surface for the belly to slide on as they arepushed out of the sleeve. The ram face 96 is in its initial position 97as the sleeve 50 is loaded into the stripper plate press 100. Once thesleeve 50 is in position, the hydraulic cylinder 94 forces the ram face96 toward the sleeve 50, and engages with the belly. The ram face 96continues to push against the belly until it is completely removed fromthe sleeve 50. Because of the tight seal between the ram face 96 and thesleeve 50, the belly is removed from the sleeve 50 without permittingany of the belly to escape past the ram face 96. The smooth innersurface formed by the protrusions 46 filling the apertures andcompressing any of the belly surface that may have expanded into theapertures 60 allows the cooked belly to be ejected with minimalcompressive force and without damage.

[0054] After the belly is removed for the sleeve 50 in the belly removaldevice 90, the belly is transported, preferably via conveyor to thespiral freezer 110. The belly remains in the freezer until it reachesequilibrium, such that its core temperature reaches between 18° F. and27° F. The belly is then sliced to a particular thickness. The slicingyields resulting from this process approach 100% of the belly.

[0055] While the above process has been described in conjunction withprocessing a single belly, the process can process multiple bellies in aparallel processing line, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The press station20 will preferably contain more than one cavity 22, such that more thanone belly may be processed at the same time. Further, if desired, two ormore smaller bellies or other meat pieces may be placed in the samecavity 22 for pressing into a single rectangular mass for slicing.

[0056] While embodiments and applications of this invention have beenshown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the artthat other modifications are possible without departing from theinventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to berestricted except in the spirit of the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a meat slab, comprisingthe steps of: massaging the slab; placing the slab in a cavity, thecavity being open at both ends; pressing the slab in the cavity to apredetermined thickness; providing a sleeve with open ends for receivingthe pressed slab; discharging the pressed slab from the cavity into thesleeve through an open end while the belly is being pressed; cooking theslab; blast chilling the slab; removing the slab from the sleeve throughan open end; and chilling the slab.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe slab is massaged at a temperature above freezing.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the slab is massaged at a temperature of approximately34° F. to 38° F.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the meat slab ispork.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the slab is injected with apickle solution prior to massaging.
 6. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising the step of infusing the slab with a pickle solution whilethe slab is massaged.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the slab ispressed with a flat platen.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingthe steps of: releasing the flat platen after pressing the slab;pressing the slab with the flat platen a second time in the cavity;maintaining the flat platen in the pressed position.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the cavity is rectangular having a width equal to thedesired length of a processed meat strip.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the rectangular cavity has a length longer than the slab placedin the rectangular cavity.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the flatplaten presses the slab, in a direction perpendicular to the width andlength of the rectangular cavity, to a thickness equal to the desiredwidth of the processed meat strip.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe flat platen is rectangular and is sized to prevent passage of theslab past the flat platen during the pressing of the slab.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the pressed slab expands in length by atleast 4 inches and up to approximately 12 inches.
 14. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the pressed slab expands in length by at least 6inches and up to approximately 12 inches.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein the slab is pressed at a temperature above freezing.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the slab is pressed at a temperature ofapproximately 34° F. to 38° F.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein thesleeve is rectangular, the cross-section of the sleeve having a widthequal to the cavity width and a height equal to the thickness of thepressed slab.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the length of thesleeve is sized for receiving the length of the pressed slab withoutcompressing the slab lengthwise.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thebelly is discharged into the sleeve with a force adequate to minimizevoids and square the ends of the slabs without causing lengthwisecompression of the slabs.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the sleevecomprises an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper and lowersurfaces having a pattern of apertures.
 21. The method of claim 20,further comprising the steps of: covering the upper and lower surfacesof the sleeve with an upper and lower stripper plate before dischargingthe slab into the sleeve.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the upperstripper plate further comprises an end closure plate, the end closureplate closing one end of the sleeve when the upper stripper plate coversthe upper surface of the sleeve.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein theupper and lower stripper plates have a pattern of protrusions fillinginto and filling the pattern of apertures along the surface of the upperand lower rectangular surfaces of the sleeve, providing a smoothinterior surface in the sleeve for receiving the slab.
 24. The method ofclaim 23, wherein a ram device comprising a ram face connected to ahydraulic cylinder, forces the slab out of the cavity and into thesleeve.
 25. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step ofremoving the upper and lower stripper plates from the sleeve after theslab is discharged into the sleeve.
 26. The method of claim 1, whereinthe slab is cooked at approximately 130° F.
 27. The method of claim 1,wherein the slab is blast chilled to crust frozen condition and atemperature of approximately 18° F. to 320F.
 28. The method of claim 20,further comprising the step of covering the upper and lower surfaces ofthe sleeve with upper and lower stripper plates before removing the slabfrom the sleeve through an open end.
 29. The method of claim 28, whereina ram device comprising a ram face connected to a hydraulic cylinderdischarges the slab from the sleeve.
 30. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of slicing the slab into meat strips, wherein theslab is sliced across the width of the slab.
 31. An apparatus forprocessing a meat slab, comprising: a food processor for massaging andconditioning the slabs; a press having a cavity for receiving the slaband a flat platen movable into the cavity for comprising the slab to apredetermined thickness; a sleeve having open ends; a first ram deviceoperatively connected to the press to discharge the slab from under theplaten into the sleeve; a cooking apparatus for receiving theslab-filled sleeve; a blast chiller for chilling the slab-filled sleeve;a second ram device for ejecting the slab from the sleeve; and a chillerfor further chilling the shaped and cooked slab.
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 31, wherein the food processor massages and conditions the slabsat a temperature of approximately 34° F. to 38° F.
 33. The apparatus ofclaim 31, wherein the cavity for receiving the slab is rectangularhaving a width equal to a desired length of a meat strip, and a lengthsized to allow for pressing of the slab.
 34. The apparatus of claim 31,wherein the flat platen is rectangular.
 35. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the sleeve is rectangular having a width substantially equal tothe width of the rectangular cavity.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35,wherein the sleeve height is substantially equal to the predeterminedthickness of the pressed slabs.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36, whereinthe length of the sleeve is sized to receive the length of the pressedslab.
 38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the sleeve has apredetermined pattern of a plurality of apertures on upper and lowerrectangular surfaces.
 39. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the firstram device has an extendable ram face for engaging an end of the pressedslab.
 40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the extendable ram face hasa width substantially equal to the width of the rectangular cavity and aheight substantially equal to the height of the pressed slab.
 41. Theapparatus of claim 39, wherein the ram device discharges the slab fromthe cavity in a direction of the length of the cavity and into the openend of the sleeve.
 42. The apparatus of claim 31, the apparatus furthercomprising a first stripper plate press for retaining first upper andlower stripper plates on the sleeve while the slabs are being received.43. The apparatus of claim 42, the first upper and lower stripper platesfurther comprising a pattern of protrusions sized to fit into and fillpatterns of apertures in upper and lower surfaces of the sleeve.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 43, the upper stripper plate further comprising aclosure plate for closing the end of the sleeve opposed to the end ofthe sleeve receiving the belly.
 45. The apparatus of claim 31, whereinthe blast chiller chills the slab to a crust frozen condition and atemperature of approximately 18° F. to 32° F.
 46. The apparatus of claim42, the apparatus further comprising a second stripper plate press forretaining second upper and lower stripper plates on the sleeve while theslab is ejected from the sleeve.
 47. The apparatus of claim 46, thesecond upper and lower stripper plates further comprising a pattern ofprotrusions sized to fit into and fill the patterns of apertures in theupper and lower surfaces of the sleeve.
 48. The apparatus of claim 31,wherein the second ram device has an extendable ram face for engaging anend of the pressed slabs.
 49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the ramejects the slab in a direction of the length of the sleeve and out of anopen end of the sleeve opposed to the ram face.
 50. A sleeve forreceiving and retaining a pressed meat slab for processing, the sleevecomprising: a top, bottom and two sides, the top and bottom surfaceshaving a predetermined pattern of a plurality of apertures.
 51. Thesleeve of claim 50, wherein the sleeve is rectangular.
 52. The sleeve ofclaim 51, wherein the width of the sleeve is substantially equal to thedesired length of a meat strip.
 53. The sleeve of claim 52, wherein theheight of the sleeve is substantially equal to the desired width of ameat strip.
 54. The sleeve of claim 50, wherein the plurality ofapertures are square.
 55. The sleeve of claim 50, wherein the pluralityof apertures are round.
 56. The sleeve of claim 50, wherein the sleeveis polypropylene.
 57. An apparatus for pressing, stretching and stuffingmeat slabs, comprising: a slab press having a cavity for receiving slabsand a flat platen movable into the cavity for pressing the slabs to apredetermined thickness; a ram device operatively connected to the pressto discharge the slabs from the cavity; a sleeve for receiving thepressed slabs and having a predetermined pattern of apertures on upperand lower surfaces of the sleeve; and a stripper plate press operativelyconnected to the slab press, the stripper plate press having upper andlower stripper plates, the upper and lower stripper plates movable to aposition against the sleeve for receiving the slabs discharged from thecavity into the sleeve.
 58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein thecavity in the slab press is rectangular.
 59. The apparatus of claim 58,wherein the width of the rectangular cavity is substantially equal tothe width of a meat strip.
 60. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein theflat platen is rectangular.
 61. The apparatus of claim 57, furthercomprising an in-line scale to determine the exact weight of the slab.62. The apparatus of claim 61, further comprising a computer connectedto the scale and the ram, the computer calculating the density of theslab based on the weight and controls the pressure exerted by the ram onthe slab based on the calculated density.
 63. The apparatus of claim 57,wherein the ram includes a ram face operatively connected to a ramhydraulic cylinder.
 64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the ram facehas a width substantially equal to the width of the cavity and a heightsubstantially equal to the height of a meat strip.
 65. The apparatus ofclaim 57, wherein the sleeve is open on each end, the openings beingrectangular in shape.
 66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the widthof the sleeve is substantially equal to the width of the cavity and theheight is substantially equal to the height of a meat strip.
 67. Theapparatus of claim 65, wherein the length of the sleeve is substantiallyequal to the length of a pressed slab.
 68. The apparatus of claim 57,wherein the upper and lower stripper plates have protrusions sized tofit into and fill the apertures on the upper and lower surfaces of thesleeve.
 69. The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the upper stripper platefurther comprises a sleeve end closure plate.
 70. The apparatus of claim69, wherein the sleeve is placed in the stripper plate press such thatan open end of the sleeve is adjacent to the cavity in the slab press.71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the stripper plate press movesthe upper and lower stripper plates against the sleeve such that theprotrusions fill the apertures on the sleeve, providing a smoothinterior sleeve surface.
 72. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein the endclosure plate of the upper stripper plate closes the end of the sleeveopposite the end adjacent to the slab press cavity.
 73. The apparatus ofclaim 70, wherein the stripper plate press further comprises a pair ofair cylinder sot separate the sleeve for the lower stripper plate.
 74. Amethod of processing meat slabs in preparation for cooking and slicinginto strips, comprising the steps of: placing the slabs having atemperature below room temperature and above freezing in a cavity of awidth equal to the desired length of the sliced strips and of a lengthlonger than the slabs placed in the cavity; pressing the slabs in therectangular cavity with a flat platen in a direction perpendicular tosaid width and length to a thickness of the bellies equal to the desiredwidth of the slices strips; providing a rectangular sleeve with an openend having a width equal to the cavity width and a height equal to thethickness of the pressed slabs, said rectangular sleeve having a lengthfor receiving the length of the pressed slabs; providing an upperstripper plate and a lower stripper plate covering the length and widthof the upper and lower rectangular surfaces, respectively, of therectangular sleeve, said stripper plates each having a pattern ofprotrusions fitting into and filling a like pattern of apertures in theupper and lower rectangular surfaces of the sleeve and forming a smoothinterior surface in the sleeve; and discharging the pressed slabs fromthe rectangular cavity in the direction of the cavity length into therectangular sleeve through the open end while maintaining the flatplaten in the same position as when the pressing was completed.
 75. Themethod of claim 74, further comprising the steps of pressing the slabslengthwise into the rectangular sleeve with a force adequate to minimizevoids and to square the ends of the slabs without causing lengthwisecompression of the slabs to thereby complete the rectangular shape ofthe formed slabs.
 76. The method of claim 74, further comprising thestep of removing the stripper plates from the rectangular sleeve forplacing the sleeve with the slabs retained therein into a cookingenvironment.
 77. The method of claim 76, further including the step ofcovering the upper and lower rectangular surfaces of the sleeve withupper and lower stripper plates, respectively, each having a pattern ofprotrusions fitting into and filling the like pattern of apertures inthe upper and lower rectangular surfaces of the sleeve and forming asmooth interior surface in the sleeve for discharging the slabs from thestripper plate covered sleeve through an open end.
 78. The method ofclaim 74, further including the steps of releasing the pressing of theslabs by the platen after pressing the thickness of the slabs equal tothe desired width of the sliced strips and then pressing the slabs againto that thickness before discharging the pressed slabs.
 79. A method ofprocessing pork bellies for slicing into bacon strips, comprising thesteps of: massaging the bellies at a temperature below room temperatureand above freezing for conditioning the bellies; placing the bellies ina rectangular cavity of a width equal to the desired length of theprocessed bacon strips and of a length longer than the bellies placed inthe cavity, said cavity being open at both ends in the direction of thelength; pressing the bellies in the rectangular cavity with a flatplaten in a direction perpendicular to said width and length to athickness of the bellies equal to the desired width of the processedbacon strips, said flat platen having the width and length of therectangular cavity for inhibiting the passage of the bellies past theplaten during pressing but causing the bellies to expand in thedirection of the length of the rectangular cavity; releasing thepressing of the bellies by the platen by reversing the movement in theperpendicular direction and then pressing the bellies again in theperpendicular direction with a flat platen; providing a rectangularsleeve with an open end having a width equal to the cavity width and asleeve height equal to the thickness of the pressed bellies forming thebacon strip width, said rectangular sleeve having a length for receivingthe length of the pressed bellies; providing an upper stripper plate anda lower stripper plate covering the length and width of the upper andlower rectangular surfaces, respectively, of the rectangular sleeve,said stripper plates each having a pattern of protrusions fitting intoand filling a like pattern of apertures in the upper and lowerrectangular surfaces of the sleeve and forming a smooth interior surfacein the sleeve for receiving the bellies from the rectangular cavity;discharging the pressed bellies from the rectangular cavity in thedirection of the cavity length into the rectangular sleeve whilemaintaining the flat platen in the same position as when the pressingwas completed for establishing the bacon strip width to thereby maintainthat width; pressing the bellies lengthwise into the rectangular sleevewith a force adequate to minimize voids and square the ends of thebellies without causing lengthwise compression of the bellies to therebycomplete the rectangular shape of the formed bellies; removing thestripper plates from the rectangular sleeve and placing the sleeve withthe bellies retained therein into a cooking environment until cooked;removing the bellies-filled sleeve from the cooking environment andblast chilling the bellies to a predetermined temperature above freezingwhile retaining the bellies in the sleeve; covering the upper and lowerrectangular surfaces of the sleeve with upper and lower stripper plates,respectively, each having a pattern of protrusions fitting into andfilling the like pattern of apertures in the upper and lower rectangularsurfaces of the sleeve and forming a smooth interior surface in thesleeve; discharging the shaped and cooked bellies from the stripperplate covered sleeve through an open end of the sleeve; chilling theshaped and cooked bellies to a predetermined temperature whilemaintaining the rectangular shape.
 80. The method of claim 79 furthercomprising the step of slicing the bellies across the width and throughthe height of the rectangular shape to a desired thickness to producethe bacon strips.
 81. An apparatus for processing pork bellies forslicing into bacon strips, comprising: a massager for receiving andconditioning the bellies at a temperature below room temperature andabove freezing; a press having a rectangular cavity with a width equalto a length of the bacon strips for receiving the bellies and arectangular flat platen movable into said rectangular cavity forcompressing the bellies to a predetermined thickness equal to a width ofthe bacon strips; a rectangular sleeve having a width equal to saidwidth of said rectangular cavity, a height equal to a width of the baconstrip, ad a length adequate to receive the compressed bellies, saidrectangular sleeve having a predetermined pattern of a plurality ofapertures on upper and lower rectangular surfaces; first upper and lowerstripper plates each having a pattern of protrusions for fitting intoand filling said patterns of apertures in said upper and lower surfaces,respectively, of said rectangular sleeve to provide smooth interiorsurfaces on said sleeve for receiving the compressed bellies; a firststripper plate press for retaining said first stripper plates on saidrectangular sleeve while the bellies are being received; a first ramdevice operatively connected to said press and having an extendable ramface for engaging an end of the compressed bellies to discharge thebellies from under said platen in the direction of the length of saidrectangular cavity and into an open end of said rectangular sleeve withsaid first stripper plates retained on said sleeve by said firststripper plate press; a cooking apparatus for receiving the rectangularsleeve with the compressed bellies therein and with the first upper andlower stripper plates removed for cooking the bellies; a blast chillerfor chilling the bellies-filled rectangular sleeve after cooking to apredetermined temperature above freezing; second upper and lowerstripper plates each having a pattern of protrusions for fitting intoand filling said patterns of apertures in said upper and lower surfaces,respectively, of said rectangular sleeve to provide a smooth interiorsurfaces on said sleeve; a second stripper plate press for retainingsaid second stripper plates on said rectangular sleeve; a second ramdevice having an extendable ram face for engaging an end of the cookedand chilled bellies and ejecting the bellies from said rectangularsleeve with said second stripper plates retained on said sleeve by saidsecond stripper plate press; and a chiller for further chilling theshaped and cooked bellies to a predetermined temperature below.
 82. Theapparatus of claim 81 further comprising a slicer for slicing thebellies across the width and through the height into bacon strips.